


Q Knew

by idontlikegravy (subcircus)



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-16
Updated: 2010-01-16
Packaged: 2017-10-06 08:32:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subcircus/pseuds/idontlikegravy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Q makes an embarrassing admission to Riker that will change his life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Q Knew

**Author's Note:**

> A What if? set post the movies, during Will's captaincy of the Titan.

Captain William Thomas Riker woke from a dream and stared up into the darkness of his quarters aboard the _USS Titan_. Turning to see the ship's chronometer, he saw it was still early yet, so he lay on his back, eyes closed, and waited for sleep to return.

Feeling the warmth of his wife, he turned over and stroked the form beside him in the bed.

"_Imzadi_," he murmured.

"I didn't know you cared," came the reply in a definitely masculine voice.

Will's eyes snapped open a split second before he scrambled backwards, tumbling out of bed and onto the floor. He quickly found his feet and addressed the intruder.

"What the hell are you doing here Q?"

"Tut, tut, Riker, is that any way to greet an old friend?" Q replied, lying seductively on the bed, wearing nothing but a smile.

"More to the point, what have you done with Deanna?" Riker demanded "And put some clothes on!".

"Calm yourself _Captain_ Riker; your beloved Betazoid beauty is quite safe. Sleeping peacefully in the next room," Q replied. Will strode the few paces to the doorway and sighed with relief as he saw the sleeping form of his wife, exactly as Q had said. "You see?" Q said, appearing behind Will and now dressed in identical sleeping attire to the captain.

"What do you want Q?" Riker repeated.

"You know, you sound more like Picard every day," Q sneered.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me Q. But that's not an answer."

"Oh very well, if the pleasantries are over let's discuss business, but elsewhere; I should hate to wake dear Deanna." With a wave of his hand, Q transported them both to Will's Ready Room; he seated himself behind the desk, and Will opposite. Q had also dressed himself and Riker in uniforms of Starfleet Captains.

"Oh I love what you've done with the place," Q cooed, "All the 20th Century antiques, the trombone on the wall, it's so you; so homey!"

"Q," Will said impatiently.

"Testy. I have come here to deliver the most wonderful news, Riker. The Continuum has decided to give you a second chance to join with us." Q said with a magnanimous and broad smile on his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes. Will laughed.

"You've got to be kidding."

"Not at all. We realised that we pushed it all on you too quickly the last time. Your primitive human mind was too limited to accept all the power in one go. But now, you are older and hopefully wiser, and the Continuum has learned much about humans. We think we can make the transition much smoother this time. So, in our beneficence, we are offering you this wondrous gift."

"Cut the crap, Q. I didn't believe that you were acting out of the goodness of your hearts then and I don't now. And I certainly don't believe that the Continuum would change its mind. If you are set on inducting a human into the Q, then why me?" Riker said.

Q regarded him critically for a few moments, before smirking.

"I told them you wouldn't believe it. I told them it would be better to be honest with you."

"Honesty? From you? Pah!"

"I'll ignore that, brother," Q replied sternly, a hint of menace in his voice.

"I'm not your brother Q. I'm not going to join the Continuum," Riker shouted, , standing and leaning across the table

"But you have no choice Riker. You are a member of the Continuum, and you have been since we gave you those powers."

"I don't understand," Riker said, perplexed. Q stood up and leaned over the desk, matching Riker's pose and coming within an inch of his face.

"Of course you don't, you never do," he said in a low voice, before standing upright and continuing in his more usual, superior, tone, "Our powers are not as limitless as we like to pretend. We gave you our power, but we could not take it away again," Q explained, testily. It was the closest Will had ever seen him to embarrassed.

"You're saying that I've had the powers of the Q all this time? Then why have I never accidentally used them like Amanda Rogers did?"

"You believed that we had stripped away your powers, so as far as you were concerned, it was true. The mind is a very complicated thing."

"No, this doesn't make any sense; you were made mortal once, stripped of your powers."

"That was before we knew it wasn't possible to take away our powers. I was indeed made mortal, but I still had my powers. That part was all in my head," Q explained dismissively.

"And what about the Q that wanted to commit suicide?"

"The one aboard _Voyager_? If you were still merely human, you would not even remember that event."

"I didn't, until just now. Strange…" Riker said, puzzled. Q continued his explanation.

"As for Q, we cannot remove the power, but we can make a member of the Continuum believe we have taken them. It is also possible to make one of the Continuum mortal if the entire Q acts as a unit, but that is done rarely, usually as a punishment."

"This doesn't make any sense Q. Is this one of you tricks?"

"No, see for yourself, do something. Change your appearance. You can be young again, or a Klingon, Ferengi, a rabbit if you really desire."

Will stood up and walked over to a window to see his reflection. Looking back at him was the reflection he'd got used to seeing in recent years. Will was nearing his fiftieth birthday, but aside from a few extra grey hairs, and a few extra pounds, you would never have known it. He was in good health, and kept himself fit.

He looked down at his hand, then back at the reflection. Tentatively, he waved his hand and the familiar white light that accompanied any show of power from the Q flashed. When the light was gone, Will was left looking at his reflection of over nearly two decades ago, at the William T Riker who had refused Q the first time.

The uniform was different, and an extra pip rested on the collar, but there was no doubting he was much younger in appearance. He turned to Q, mouth open in amazement.

"Did you…?" he stammered.

"No Captain, it was all you. Now I've reawakened it, can't you feel the power?" Q asked in a low, seductive voice, stepping closer to Will. Will thought for a moment, then nodded. "Good," Q said, speaking into Will's ear.

"But I don't want this Q, I have my life, Deanna!" Will said, backing away. Q sighed.

"You can continue with your precious little charade if you want. Live out your days with Troi, watch her grow old and die. But there is no denying what you are. Unfortunately."

"Take it back. I don't want to be immortal; I don't want to be part of the Continuum."

"Tough."

"But you said Qs can be made mortal! Let me grow old and die with the woman I love."

"You can grow old, Riker, that is a simple illusion that you can create without any effort. But now you've tapped the dormant power, you are not mortal anymore, and the Continuum refuses to make you so again."

"Then I'll do it," Riker said, raising his arm. Q held his arms up to stop him.

"I wouldn't do that. Every time Q tried to make himself mortal, he ended up killing everyone around him. Just ask Janeway. The whole Continuum must act unanimously to make a Q mortal, and we are not going to do that for you."

"So I just have to accept it? You come waltzing in here, tell me that I've had the power of the Q all along? You reawaken that power and make me immortal, and just like that, I have to accept that I'm going to lose Deanna, and spend eternity with _you_?"

"Basically, yes. You have to come with me now. You have to become Q."

Before Riker could protest, Q transported the two of them off the Titan.

"Where are we?" Will asked, blinking in the sudden glare of sunlight. Q waved his hand dismissively at their surroundings.

"This? This is a construct. It is merely a way to represent the Continuum in a way that your human mind will understand until you become Q. It worked well for Janeway." Q explained, walking across the desert road toward the small wooden building. Will saw it was a store of some kind, with other people outside and a dog lying in the sun. He strode after Q.

"Answer me this Q; why am I so damn important to the Continuum? Why was it so important that this happen now?" Riker said, irritated by Q's kidnap. Q stopped and turned to him.

"The Continuum has lost too much in the New Era. We would not be able to cope with the loss of another Q, albeit one who was ignorant of his status. Tomorrow morning, the Titan and everyone aboard will be blown up by a renegade Klingon. So you see, we had to do this now or you would have been killed."

"You lied to me Q, you said I could live out Deanna's life with her," Riker said, becoming angry.

"And so you shall, it's just that her life will end tomorrow," Q said, turning to continue.

"Then I'll stop the explosion," Riker said, grabbing Q by the shoulder.

"Not if you wish to live as a human. We've been here before Riker. Choose the human path and you must renounce the power of the Q. You kept your promise to Picard then, but can you really stand aside and watch Deanna die?"

"No. I'd rather live without her than watch her die," Will admitted.

"Noble, Riker. Stupid, but noble," Q sneered, "Come and meet the folks then."

"Wait Q. Will it change me? I…"

"You're worried you'll lose your precious humanity? Stop loving Deanna? Don't be. You'll still be the same personality as always. Although why you should want to cling to such disgusting habits…" Q shuddered. Riker couldn't help but chuckle. They continued walking over to the store.

"I thought that was why you wanted me to join the Q in the first place. So you could know about humanity."

"Yes, well perhaps that is not as admirable a quality as we thought."

*_*

Deanna woke to find Will's side of the bed empty and cold. Puzzled, she got up and went to the living area of their quarters. When she didn't find him there, she used the connection between them to contact him.

_Imzadi,_ she thought, _Will, where are you_?

When no answer came, she became concerned. She crossed to the desk and pressed the com panel.

"Computer, locate Captain Riker."

"Captain Riker is no longer aboard the _Titan_."

"Dammit! Bridge, this is Commander Troi, have any shuttlecraft left the ship?"

"_No Commander. Is anything wrong_?"

At that moment, there was a blinding flash of white light, and Will appeared back in the room.

"No, nothing wrong bridge. Troi out. Will, where have you been?" she asked, running forward.

"Q, up to his old tricks again," Will replied, taking her in his arms and holding her.

_What's wrong_? Deanna asked silently, _I don't need to be an empath to see that something is bothering you_.

_I'll explain everything later. I promise,_ Will answered. "But first, we have a Klingon delegation to greet," he finished aloud. He drew back and smiled at her and she returned the smile. She could see that he was hiding something, but there had been no lie in what he told her, so she could wait for an explanation. She headed back to the bedroom to dress.

When she had gone, Q appeared in the room.

"Don't forget what you have to do, Q," he said. Riker glared at him.

"I know," he answered, "And don't call me that. I'm not ready for that yet."

"Whatever you say, _brother_." Q replied. Irritated, Riker waved his hand and sent Q away.

An hour later, after they had eaten breakfast, Captain Riker and his wife stood in dress uniform inside transporter room one, awaiting the arrival of their guests. The transporter energised, and four Klingons arrived. Riker stepped forward and saluted the leader.

"_Qapla'_ Ambassador. Welcome aboard the _Titan_."

"_Qapla_' Captain Riker," the Ambassador replied with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll have my security team escort your delegation to their quarters," Will said, and indicated to his men to do so. They escorted the Klingons from the room. When they had done so, Riker turned again to the ambassador, a broad smile on his face. "It's good to see you again Worf," he said, clapping Worf on the arm. Worf returned the friendly gesture.

"You too. And you Deanna," he said, turning to Troi and giving a curt bow. Deanna laughed at his formality and embraced him.

"It's been too long Worf," she said, "We have tea prepared, come and chat with us a while until the talks begin."

"I'd like that," Worf replied, and the three left the transporter room together. They began walking toward the turbolift but, before they got there, Will stopped and then changed direction, heading back the way they came. A little confused, Deanna and Worf stopped and waited for Will to explain.

"What's wrong, Will?" Deanna called after him.

Without answering her, Riker continued down the corridor. Deanna and Worf looked at each other, then followed after him. They walked past the transporter room and were almost to main engineering when they caught up to Riker. Deanna grabbed his arm and asked,

"Will, please, something's wrong. What is it?"

"Something I have to see to. It won't take long," Will said absent-mindedly, as though he didn't really see Deanna. He pulled his arm from her grasp and walked into engineering, followed quickly by Troi and Worf.

Engineering was in chaos. The staff lay either dead or injured, and panels were sparking everywhere.

"My god," Deanna whispered. She put her hand to her communicator to contact the medical team, but Will put a hand on hers to stop her. She looked at him, puzzled.

"It's okay," he said. He waved his hand, and the staff were all alive and well again. Shocked, Deanna and Worf could only look at the crew and Riker in amazement. "Everybody evacuate engineering immediately," Riker ordered. The bewildered crew looked around at the devastation for a second before obeying their Captain.

"Will…" Deanna began, but he hushed her.

Riker walked forward toward the warp core, where a single figure was stood. It was a Klingon, one of Worf's delegation.

"Dukath!" Worf shouted with a growl, and started forward, but Will restrained him.

The Klingon looked at them and raised his weapon, but with a wave of his hand Will turned it into a bunch of flowers. Despite her fear and bewilderment, Deanna couldn't help but smile at such a ridiculous image. Dukath dropped the flowers and snarled at them.

"Your tricks won't save you Starfleet. I represent the interests of the Klingon Empire, not this traitor, this spineless _t'gla_! I have set a bomb to detonate, destroying your warp core, and there is no way to stop it."

Worf began to run forward, snarling, and Deanna gasped as the bomb detonated. Time slowed and Deanna watched, helpless, as the explosion engulfed Dukath. But then, miraculously, it stopped, and in a blinding flash of light, it vanished, leaving the three friends standing in an undamaged Engineering section.

Suddenly, Q appeared.

"Bravo Riker, bravo," he said, applauding. "I thought that letting the Klingon kill himself was a particularly nice touch."

"Shut up, Q."

"Temper, temper," Q replied. Worf growled at him. "Ah, my micro-brain, you still care!"

"Q! What have you done?" Deanna demanded.

"Oh not me, my dear counsellor, it is your darling husband you should be asking," Q replied. Deanna turned to Will.

"Is it true? Did you do all that? Did he give you that power again?"

"Not again. It was there all along, I just didn't know it. But now I've used it, I have to leave you," he replied. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"Yes, he has more important matters to attend to," Q said with a sneer.

"You aren't helping Q. Leave!"

"Very well, Q, but don't take too long," he replied, and vanished.

"Leave? I don't understand, why do you have to leave? And why did he call you Q?"

"Because I am Q. That was the deal Deanna. I saved the ship, now I have to leave. I had no choice. They made me Q and I can't change that or deny it, as much as I wish I could. They…We aren't as omnipotent as Q has always implied."

"I…I understand," Deanna stammered through her tears. Will brushed her cheek and wiped away the tears.

_No you don't_, Will answered, _I can read your thoughts as clearly as if I were Betazoid now. Perhaps one day I'll be able to explain it to you. I'm sorry for this, but know that I did this for you. To save you. I love you with all my heart._

That I do know. Even now, I can still sense that from you. I love you too. Deanna replied.

"Imzadi," Will whispered. He kissed her, softly, then vanished in a flash of white light. Tears streamed down Deanna's face as she stood in Engineering, sobbing, as Worf walked over to her and held her in his arms.


End file.
